August 02, 2024

371: Victor Novak of Figueroa Mountain Builds Modern Beers on Traditional Foundations

1 hour 21 minutes

Victor Novak has been racking up medals at major competitions for decades now. Through stints at significant Philadelphia and southern California breweries, he’s made his mark on the development of contemporary beer styles while also working with a number of younger brewers who’ve done significant work themselves. Now, as director of innovation for Figueroa Mountain in Westlake Village, California, he’s blending the many beer avenues he loves—lager, fruit, and more—to build a robust program with beers that even non-beer-lovers can enjoy.

In this episode, Novak covers:

adjusting chloride-to-sulfate ratios in dark lagers

building easy-drinking dark beers with pilsner malt, rice, and small amounts of roasted malts

limiting Munich malt to avoid astringency

single-infusion mashing with modern malts

managing sulfur production with Augustiner lager yeast

the differentiating factors in award-winning lagers

dialing in pH in either pale and dark lagers to optimize hop or malt expression

biotransformation with lager yeast in West Coast pils

creating a perception of sweetness (without actual sweetness) in tart fruit beers

Choosing Lactobacillus strains for the intended level of acidity

adding top-notes to fruit flavors for aromatic punch

working terpenes into hop-forward and nonalcoholic beers

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

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